Nanotechnology General News

(Nanowerk News) The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking proposals to create computer models to help build and improve electric drive vehicle (EDV) batteries.

The goals for the design tools are:

Shorten the prototyping and manufacturing process

Improve overall performance, safety, and battery life

Lower costs.

The request for proposals for "Development of Computer Aided Design Tools for Automotive Batteries" and related documents are available online at http://www.nrel.gov/business_opportunities/solicitations_rfps.html. Proposals are due September 14, 2010. The award amount that companies can apply for is up to $7.5 million with a 50 percent cost share required bringing the total possible project amount up to $15 million over three years.